I'll Be Seeing You
by aWaywardDreamer
Summary: Life is a fragile and delicate thing. One second it's there, shining brightly for all to see and behold. The next it's gone, blown out like the glowing flame of a candle. What do you do, how do you keep on living, when the warmth and light of your world has gone out forever.


A/N: I wrote this quite a while back, and it's still something i'm insanely proud of. So i wanted to repost it from my old account on HPFF, (author's name LunaLuver) which I might be doing with a few of my other fics. Keep your eyes open for those. ;)

(P.S. This is based off of Michael Buble's version of 'I'll Be Seeing You", so I'd suggest listening to that either before or while reading this)

One year ago today my world was shattered into a million piece, never to be put back together again. One year ago, I held the love of my life in my arms and watch the light leave her eyes. One year ago today, Hermione Jean Granger, died.

I was sitting in our favorite cafe just down the street from our flat. I sat there sipping an espresso, watching the early morning commuters making their way to work. I decided to keep the flat we once shared, I couldn't let it go, the last tangible piece of our lives together. Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy, we make quite the splash in the beginning, doing what we wanted and not caring what anyone else thought. If only...if only it could have lasted forever.

I was doing better today than I, or anyone else, could have imagined. It wasn't because I'd gone cold inside deciding not to feel the pain. Believe me I was feeling every inch of the pain. It was because I was starting to slowly put my live back together even though it would never fully be healed. Everyone said she would have wanted me to be happy, not to dwell in the past and live on memories alone, which is what I did for the first six month. I hated them for saying that, every last one of them. Who were they to tell me to get on with my life when the only person who ever gave it any meaning, any happiness, was gone.

Standing up, I placed a few pounds on the table before crossing the street and heading into the large park Hermione loved spending time at. It was the perfect summer's day, a soft breeze was blowing the trees.

Slowly walking past the old carousel I let a smile creep to my lips, as I remembered the first time she talked me into going on it. I wanted no part of it, some deranged muggle contraption that sent you spinning around hanging on for dear life to some wooden horse. Not my cup of tea. But after begging, pleading and promising it was perfectly safe I let her drag me on. Needless to say it wasn't the first time she had proven me wrong.

The only person who finally managed to break through my grief was Ginny. She had taken it upon herself to look after me. Not like anyone was fighter her for the job. She said it was all she could do now for her best friend, and she was going to do it well. Whether I liked it or not. I've never told her how much her support meant, and still means, to me. Though I think she's known all along.

Ginny let me have my time at first, we all need time to grieve in our ways as they say. Nobody could believe that one of the great war heroes who fought alongside Harry Potter every step of the way, was willing to meet death head on if it meant protecting her friends, would die in such a normal, muggle way.

The day before she died we were at our weekly Friday night dinner at the Potters. Catching up over a glass of wine, having some laughs and complaining about the ever growing stack of paperwork the Ministry was throwing at all of us. All except Ginny who was in the height of her Quidditch career. It was then that Ginny decided she couldn't keep quiet anymore and announce she was eight weeks pregnant. I swear the squeals and screams from that night deafened me somewhat. After dinner the girls went into the lounge to talk all things baby, and Harry and I into the parlor for a glass of Firewhisky.

Laying in bed that night with my arms tightly wrapped around her as she slept, I started to imagine how amazing it would be having my own family with Hermione.

The next morning she insisted on going out and buying something for the baby, something completely muggle that he or she wouldn't get from anyone else. We spend hours looking at so many different things my heads was spinning, and she of course was having the time of her life pulling into one store after another. I finally manage to drag her away, we were walking down the street past a newly opened baby boutique and something caught my eye. Apparently all this baby talk was starting to rub off on me. In the window, shining under the display lights, was an extremely expensive bassinet which I decided on the spot I wanted to buy for the Potters. I owed them a lot after the war. The only reason I wasn't in Azkaban along with my father was because Harry came to my defence, his word was enough for the wizarding world to accept me once again.

I can still hear her amused laughter in my ears when I told her this, insisting I didn't need to buy my way into real friends, I was already there. She was pulling my hand, trying to pry me away from the window but I wouldn't budge. She was saying we'd be late to the theater if we didn't hurry.

Her hand slipped from mine, her voice calling to me, I could still hear her amusement. I turned around then and looked at her; She was smile that brilliant smile of hers, amber eyes dancing in the late morning sun. She reached a hand out to me, wiggling her fingers as she said, "Come here you." And just when I'd taken the first step forward, she took one back, stepping off the curb, not looking where she was going. It was in that split second when a cab came around the corner and hit her.

I didn't understand what happened at first, one minute I was looking at her, the next she was on the ground. The screams of the people jolted me back to reality and I ran to her side, begging and praying she would make it through. I pulled her into my arms trying to reassure the both of us that everything would be alright, but like always, she knew something I didn't. With a sad smile she looked up at me, tears shining in her eyes as she raised one hand to touch my face. The last thing she ever whispered to me was "Draco..." before her hand slipped from my face, and a single tear fell from her eye, taking all the light she held from within her.

I've thought about that day every day since for the past year. Blaming myself in the beginning that if I'd only come sooner, held onto her hand a little tighter, she might still be here. It's taken time, and a curtain redheads guidance, but I've come to the knowledge that Hermione wouldn't want me blaming myself for something I couldn't control. I can almost hear her saying it wasn't my fault what happened, and just because I am a Malfoy does not mean I get a say in all things.

It takes everything I have in me not go down that dark road of blame and misery, to not self destruct. What I have in me, and will always keep close to my heart, is the love from a girl I could never have dreamed of having. And never truly deserved. The love of someone who saw what I kept buried beneath the surface, someone who would want me to go on living life to the fullest. Not just for myself, but for her too. So that's what I'm going to do. From this day on I'm going to live my life in the hopes of making her proud each and every day. It won't be easy, but live does go on, even when those we love have to leave us sooner than expected.

In January, Harry and Ginny had a beautiful baby boy. James Sirius Potter. And one of his first gifts was the muggle stuffed otter Hermione bought for him. She would have loved the little guy just as much as I do, probably more, and spoiled him rotten. I've already started telling him stories about his wonderful, brave and loving Aunt Hermione. Because the ones who love us never really leave us, they just start the next journey a little sooner.


End file.
